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I am just getting into the game, but I'm on a tight budget. I have acquired a second hand Space Marines army at a decent price, and I've been going over the Codex trying to figure out what to field.

Do I need the specific models made by Games Workshop to represent a specific unit? For example, I've got a decent number of generic tactical squad Marines. Is there anything stopping me from painting them with white helmets and calling it a unit of Sternguard Veterans? On a similar note, can I play a normal Boltgun as a combi-weapon without falling ill of the "what you see is what you get" rule?

Thanks for your help, folks!

While the tac. marines as sternguard is generally ok, you might need your opponent's permission to do a "counts as" or "proxy" weapon. Combi-weapons are fairly easy to make, as long as you have the bits. Just cut off relevant piece (cylinder of melta, tapered tip of plasma gun/pistol, or holed bit plus pilot light of flamer) and glue it onto a bolter, cutting pieces off of the bolter to make it fit. Check out the p & m tutorials here for some more in depth ways to make better ones. Enjoy the game, have fun!

You absolutely do not need the sternguard or vanguard models. As long as your veterans have appropriate markings to distinguish them, that's fine.

As for the combi-weapons, they really ought to be modelled. You can make combi weapons from a bolter and a special weapon pretty easily (have a look at the picture of the combi-melta that comes in the commander pack - it's easy to see how to copy that)